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Get angry: Facebook's 'Reaction' buttons are here

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Facebook's 'Reaction' buttons -- an alternative to the humble Like -- have been launched around the world.

A long-press on the Like button on mobile will now open up a tray of emoji -- Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. For web users hovering over the Like button will bring up the new reactions. The company had previously said a Yay button would be included, but this has been removed from the final offering. "We understand that this is a big change, and want to be thoughtful about rolling this out," a blog post from the company explained. "We've been listening to people and know that there should be more ways to easily and quickly express how something you see in News Feed makes you feel."

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Previously Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the feature would create "a more expressive Like button". Reactions were first available to Facebook users in Ireland and Spain, with no date set for a wider roll-out. The company said it had learnt from the initial test launch before bringing the feature to other countries.

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"For more than a year we have been conducting global research including focus groups and surveys to determine what types of reactions people would want to use most," the company wrote in a blog post. "We also looked at how people are already commenting on posts and the top stickers and emoticons as signals for the types of reactions people are already using to determine which reactions to offer."

Facebook said Reactions would also let companies and pages better see how people are reacting to their content. "Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humour and sadness. It's not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy -- in addition to delight and warmth," wrote Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.

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"Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy," he argued.

Facebook's decision to stop short of a 'dislike' button will anger some. Zuckerberg said the addition of emoji would allow people to express their opinion or feelings while remaining "respectful".